Keeping Snakes Out of Chicken Coop

[Okie chicken]

A large rat snake has killed 2 of my hens. It ate the smaller hen about a month ago. The hen it killed today was too large for him to eat. What can I do? Both times it happened during the day, not at night.

 

[M.L. McKnight]

A large rat snake has killed 2 of my hens. It ate the smaller hen about a month ago. The hen it killed today was too large for him to eat. What can I do? Both times it happened during the day, not at night.

Keep guineas with your hens, if they are in a coop- use a smaller wire, put out some quick lime in the areas you think the snakes might be hanging out, burn brush piles, clear weeds/scrub, sprinkle a little sulfur around your coop and in places the snakes might be, get a few barn cats, try and set a trap OR pay some little boy a $1.00 bounty on every hide he brings you.
I love snakes but they quickly fall out of favor when they show up around the barnyard.

 

[Bryan99705]

Have heard loose fruit tree netting will tangle them up and kill them, have heard shrimp pots work great for the "can't kill a snake group" and have seen guineas destroy any snakes they can get to